THE
MAGIC OF WISDOM

Lectures

Perth,
Australia Occidental, 1951 - 1952

Perth,
26th February, 1952

SERGE
RAYNAUD de la FERRIÈRE

CREMORNE ROOMS.

TUESDAY,
26TH FEBRUARY, 1952.

SYMBOLISM

Lecture by Dr. de la FERRIERE

Of course we must understand that Symbology is not the only teaching
of the U.G.B. In fact, the Aquarian Mission, public vehicle of the
U.G.B. does not teach any special philosophy, but endeavors to
combine and understand the teaching of 154 philosophic and religious
systems. It tries to teach the different conceptions of the human
thought of today. There are 300 different religions, each worthy of
our study and understanding.

SYMBOLISM is a very important teaching because it is the only one
that can never be destroyed. We realize that TRUTH is everywhere, and
with knowledge of Symbolism, we can avoid making mistakes in its
understanding. Books can be destroyed, as you well know by events of
history, but Symbols remain….. the Sphinx of Egypt, old
Temples all ever the World, and Astrology itself. There remains also
some Symbolism in our playing cards. The SPHINX represents the 4
elements, the 4 constellations, the 4 races, the 4 branches of the
Cross etc…

Everywhere you find this 4. If you take the playing cards you have
also the 4. Hearts, Spades, Clubs and Diamonds… The 4 Elements
of Magic…

Talisman…. Water

Relics… …..Earth

Sword……..Fire

Dagger…….Air

It is interesting to know that the Playing Cards come from the TARO,
the Holy Name, (Egyptian). If we change the letters… Rato,
Tora, etc. they still mean something.

The TARO are the original cards, but not the Playing Cards. In the
olden times the Masters gave the Disciples for Initiation, a Taro
Card, upon which he had to meditate until some form of enlightenment
came. Then he was given another. In the beginning, the Taro is
Archiometry, the System that gives the parallel between different
signs. Taro cards have the figure in the centre with some Graphics
and some Symbols eg…..

When the Master had given two or three of these Taro cards to his
Disciple, then the Disciple should be able to understand the complete
philosophy. Thus today we are given Symbolism also, some which we
receive from a teacher, some which we must find by ourselves.

Symbolism is not a special conception or an
Eastern philosophy. We find it also in the Bible. The 4 Gospels, the
4 Evangelists represent the 4 fixed constellations1.
In some Churches in Europe we find the 4 Evangelists with the 4 Signs
of the Constellations… Luke with the Bull, Mark with the Lion,
Matthew with the Angel, John with the Eagle. Each Gospel talks more
about its own Symbol that is linked with it, than about any of the
others.

We see also this particular Symbol in Rev. 4: 4-7… “And
round about the throne were four and twenty seats ….. And the
first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and
the third beast had the face of a man, and the fourth beast was like
a flying eagle.”

So you see Symbolism exists everywhere. In the
Bible, in the Popul- Buh2,
in the Koran….. Everywhere we have Symbols…

Today we are on a very important moment in the
history of Humanity. In Matt. 24: v. 30 “… And then
shall appear the Sign of the Son of man in heaven …”
Well, we have seen in the sky the Sign of the Sun of man,- the Sun
has entered the Sign3
of Aquarius, the Water- Carrier, one of the three “ human”
Signs of the Zodiac, the other two being Virgo and Twins. So we have
seen in the Sky the Sign of the Son of man, which ushers, in the
Aquarian Age. This New Age came when, because of the Precession of
the Equinox, the Sun in March 21st, 1948 left the Sign of Pisces, the
Fish, to come into the Sign of Aquarius. For the next 2000 years the
Sign of the Sun of man will be in the Sky.

But this interpretation need not be confined
merely to Symbolism. In the sky of Coree4,
America, a newspaper photographer, taking the picture of two
airplanes, found in the cloud formation on his negative, a likeness
to the head of the Christ. Great interest was aroused, and that
particular issue of the paper ran to many editions5.
Thus humanity puts many interpretations upon the meaning of the
Second Coming of Christ. But the U.G.F does not wish to canalise6
thought in any one way; it studies and attempts to understand all
philosophies.

The first 22 cards of the Taro we call the 22
Arcanes, and they correspond exactly to the 22 letters of the Hebrew
Alphabet. Symbolism is everywhere, if we take the letters only we
understand a little story, more or less the same everywhere; but the
understanding is in the SPIRIT and not in the letter. The Bible, for
instance, contains the teaching of the Bhagavad Gita of India, which
again is a parallel of that of the Ancient Civilisation7
of America, the Mayas- Quiches. The Popul- Buh, their Bible, contains
the same stories as does our Bible. Thus, when we understand the
meaning of the Symbols, we find something deeper and stronger. THAT
IS THE TEACHING OF SYMBOLISM.

There are many Symbols in each Religion. The 12 Disciples of Christ
are symbolic of the 12 Constellations. When we see the different
philosophies or religions of today fighting one against the other, as
to whether the 12 Disciples did really exist, it is a pity, because
the issue is not important. To look at the fact or the form we must
understand Symbols.

Each Sign in the Zodiac has a meaning: each has a
relationship to the human body, and a
correspondence with different countries. We find in the Bible that
Christ talks about “fish” on a number of occasions.—“…
cast the net on the right side of the ship…full of great
fishes…153…” Jonh 21: 5-11. The number 538
is important in Kabbalah and Fre-Masonry. Here is an important
teaching. Sixty-nine times in the Bible we have the word “fish”.

Returning to the Equinoxial Precession, we say that the Sun moves 1
degree each 72 years, which is a parallel with the 72 pulsations per
minute of the human being. In 2,100 years the Sun changes from one
Sign to another…

When the Sun was in Gemini, we had the Adamic Epoch, the man and
women.

When the Sun was in Taurus, we had the Epoch of the Bull.

When the Sun passed out of Taurus, it went into the constellation of
Aries, the Epoch or the worship of the Lamb.

When the Sun went into Pisces we have the Christian Epoch the Sign of
the Fish, coming from the Latin, Pisces, meaning “I shall
become Initiate” Christ called Himself a Fisherman, and chose
His Disciples from Fisherman.

The 5 loaves and the 2 fishes, making a total of 7, give a remainder
of 12 baskets. All Symbolic figures of this Epoch… The five
pointed Star… the man (fig.1.) Always we have the 7, as in the
7 Planets. Always we have the 12, as in the 12 Signs. Hence the 2000
years of the “Fish” was the Christian Era.

1.

The 21st
of March, 1948, the Sun moved into the Constellation of Aquarius,
which gives its name to this Epoch as well as to our Mission, The
Aquarian Mission. For the next 2000 years we shall be in this
Aquarian Epoch.

“When the Spirit of TRUTH shall come, he will guide you into
all Truth...” John 16: 13

“And then shall appear the Sign of the Son of man in heaven
…and they shall see the Son of man coming…” Matt.
24 v 30

We feel that in Symbology there is not something
vague, but something very logical. The Sphinx was made a long time
ago, before the Christian Age. The Evangelists were not only 4. The
Gospels are chosen from 62 others. The Sphinx was a very big
construction maybe 5,000 years before Christ, maybe longer, for we
realize that Egypt was a part of Atlantic. That is the traditional
Symbolism that we have to learn to understand better. Of course,
Symbolism, like every other teaching, cannot be given in one lecture,
and much of it is secret, and must be realized within. But we are
given just different conceptions to help us in our search for THRUTH.
We are in the New Age, and if we find the Truth, we must help others
in the Search, for in this New Age all are seeking by the
intellectual method. The day of Blind
Belief is past. People want positive, concrete explanations.

We learn in Symbolism of the Transmutation from the Bull to the
Eagle. Yes, we need to be more philosophic in Science, and more
Scientific in Philosophy and Religion. The result will be the
understanding of the ONENESS, which leads us again to the
understanding of Yoga – not of the Fakirs or the specialists of
Hatha Yoga, but real YOGA, YUG, IDENTIFICATION.

The U.G.B seeks to reconcile all Religions and
Science of all Ages. Our Institution seeks the ONENESS. Each member
remains in his own understanding; he can be Christian, Buddhist or
Jew, and still realise9
the Truth. Salvation is not limited to one Church or to one Seen. We
cannot believe that God, the Great All, would be so unjust. No, the
TRUTH is everywhere. It is not confined to any one Group. There are
no bad Religions. The Universal Great Brotherhood does not preach
against any Church. It means that we are willing to try to understand
and explain the teaching of the Chinese of the 10th
Century before Christ, as well as the Christian teaching of today. In
any teaching there must still be found the TRUTH, even though it is
given in a different way. For instance the picture of the Sacred
Heart means to the Christian that there is a feeling of love for
Humanity. But a Hindu or a Chinese would not understand how Jesus of
Nazareth could walk the World with His heart in His hand.

In the beginning of Time, the first Race, a Negro
Race, wrote UPWARDS, a Symbol of Aspiration. At this time also was
the worship of FIRE. The Yellow Race, Mongolian Chinese, understood
that we must open ourselves for the Divine to come DOWN into man.
They wrote DOWN. They just opened themselves and made of themselves a
real Cup or Chalice. The Semitic Race wrote looking towards the light
of the Sun, towards the EAST10.
Religion brings the Light to the World, just as does the Sun. The
White Race, by reason of its Scientific activity, wants to analyse,
to go into details, to understand by means of the Reason, what is the
Truth for which it seeks, to find its way to God. They have an
opposition to blind belief, thus their writing goes the opposite way,
from left to RIGHT.

Every Race has a different method of expressing itself. Everyone has
a different method of expressing himself and of understanding. We
must strive to understand the different feelings, cultures, and the
karma of each.

WITH DIFFERENT EXPRESSION, DIFFERENT FEELING, IT IS POSSIBLE TO COME
TOGETHER ON ONE POINT.

The different rivers in all the different countries go down from
different places, but still they come down to ONE SEA.

People also, can all have different ways,
different religions, but can come on the same
way. The UNIVERSAL GREAT BROTHERHOOD
gives different teachings, so that, one day, each one may come to the
TRUTH for HIMSELF.

3N.:
Constellation. The
author made a distinction between signs and constellations in his
other texts. The names of signs (symbolic) are put into the language
of each country. The names of the constellations, in all cases, are
given in Latin: Aries, Taurus,,,